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Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) is leveraging on the strong brand equity of its premium packaged water brand Himalayan to venture into new categories. The company is foraying into the premium honey and preserves (jams) categories under Himalayan, marking the brand’s step into the packaged food segment.
Vikram Grover, MD, NourishCo Beverages Ltd, the liquid beverage arm of TCPL, told BusinessLine, “Brand Himalayan for the first time in its long history broke even last fiscal. Over the last two years, we have been focusing on strengthening its go-to-market system and have grown our direct access to the premium outlets in the country. We believe Himalayan’s share of the wallet is far lower than the strength of the brand. It has really strong brand equity and we now want to extend it into new spaces.”
He added, “We are going to have a very premium play in the honey and preserves segments. In line with the brand credentials, both these new product offerings are being sourced from the Himalayan belt. The overall categories of honey and preserve have a plethora of players. But we believe the premium end (of these categories) is still in its nascent stage and there is huge headroom for growth.”
Himalayan Honey is being sourced from ‘Pahaadi Utpadd’, a Tata Trusts’ associate organisation that works on promoting traditional bee-keeping methods to develop an unadulterated mountain honey value chain.
Meanwhile, Himalayan Preserves are handmade in small batches using Himalayan-origin fruits and sourced from partners committed to helping local communities, he added. These would be available in five flavours — Strawberry, Apricot, Black Cherry, Apple Cinnamon and Three Fruit Marmalade with no added flavours or preservatives.
Distribution strategy
Talking about the distribution strategy, Grover said, “We will be leveraging NourishCo’s access to the most premium outlets across modern trade as well as HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes). We will start by distributing the products in the top nine cities. E-commerce will also be a significant channel for the distribution of these products.”
The company said that premium honey and preserves segments are growing at a fast pace and are expected to emerge as fairly large in size in the coming years. “We are looking at forays in certain other spaces under Himalayan. But we will need to ensure that the products offered are many notches above what is currently available in the market,” he added.
Overall, NourishCo has been focusing on growing its direct distribution and strengthening its geographical presence over the past two years. “Our distribution expansion has been one of the key priorities for us and a significant driver of growth for us,” Grover added.
TCPL recently announced its foray in the masala oats segment with Tata Soulfull Masala Oats+. These recent forays into new categories are part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the packaged food segment.
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